PBA 069a
8:35:04 PM Basement Cat: It is the middle of the night, and Aziz is awakened by a loud bang on his door! 8:36:00 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari is awakened because bangs are loud and his door is wood 8:36:27 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Yes hi what I wasn't asleep no 8:36:53 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari takes a few moments to settle down and remember how to breathe before opening the door 8:38:34 PM Aziz al-Awlari: ...hello? 8:38:55 PM Basement Cat: Is he opening the door or just talking through it? 8:39:12 PM Aziz al-Awlari: opens the door before saying hello 8:39:18 PM Aziz al-Awlari: a crack though 8:40:37 PM Basement Cat: Marti falls back a bit from where she was leaning on the door. 8:41:12 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari opens the door the rest of the way. "It's... what time is it? It's well past sleep o'clock. Are you alright?" 8:42:22 PM Basement Cat: She's wearing the slip, which is dripping a bit of water but doesn't seem to be entirely saturated, and her hair is doing that weird coiling-uncoiling thing again. 8:43:21 PM Basement Cat: Marti: I can't sleep. 8:44:11 PM Basement Cat: Marti: How do you sleep without a hoard? 8:44:51 PM Aziz al-Awlari: I think it helps that I've never had one. Come in? 8:45:03 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari beckons her inside, indicating one of his comfier chairs 8:45:14 PM Basement Cat: She does, and sits down. 8:47:00 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari pulls one of his other chairs over, sadly one less comfortable than the one he gave up 8:48:05 PM Aziz al-Awlari: ...let's see. For squish-people, certain substances can help with sleep. Certain kinds of tea, or warm milk with honey perhaps. Shall I make you one of those? 8:49:14 PM Basement Cat: Marti: ... yes. I tried both ways. Like this and like normal. It was nice and gooshy but I could tell. 8:49:52 PM Aziz al-Awlari: You could tell that it was fake, or that your hoard wasn't there? 8:50:27 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari sets a kettle on the fire to boil, and rummages in a small cupboard for honey and a tea strainer 8:50:32 PM Basement Cat: Marti: That my hoard wasn't there. 8:51:40 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Mmm. In your human form, did you have something to sleep on? Squishbeings are sensitive to what they sleep on - usually it needs to provide proper neck support, and should prevent too much heat loss. 8:52:06 PM Basement Cat: Marti: I never tried before. What kind of neck support? Like a brace? 8:53:07 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari produces a large, fuzzy towel, but stops mid-stride. "...right, this isn't common sense for you." 8:53:38 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Neck support would be like a pillow of the appropriate size. Not too large as to bend your neck at an odd angle, but large enough to provide proper cushioning. 8:54:13 PM Basement Cat: Marti: Oh. Oh, that's what they're there for! I knew there wasn't enough to put around the edges for a nest. 8:54:50 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari smiles wryly. "Yes, they're for your head. Though if you wanted enough for a pillow-nest, it could be arranged for." 8:55:17 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Did Nation give you a mattress? It'd be a much larger, more rigid and square pillow-esque thing. Would look somewhat like this. 8:55:20 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari indicates his own bed 8:55:52 PM Basement Cat: Marti: Yes, I tried to make a nest of it. 8:56:04 PM Basement Cat: Marti: But there wasn't enough material and it's all soft. 8:56:33 PM Aziz al-Awlari: It would be all soft, yes. Squishbeings are soft, so the things they sleep on need to be soft as well. 8:57:15 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Where a dragon is resilient enough to burrow into a pile of precious metals and gems, a human doing that would end up crumpled under the weight - not to mention bruised by the rigid structures. 8:57:18 PM Basement Cat: Marti: Well, normally I sleep on my coins, you know. 8:58:15 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari offers her the towel. "You might want to dry off a bit. Human bodies lose heat quickly - moreso when damp." 8:58:25 PM Basement Cat: Marti: There was one with a dragon on it that reminded me of papa that was particularly nice... 8:58:46 PM Basement Cat: Marti: Oh. Is that why you're all so dry all the time? 8:58:59 PM | Edited 8:59:17 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Exactly. We'll usually seek out damp areas when we're trying to cool off. 8:59:05 PM Basement Cat: She rubs the towel on herself a bit awkwardly. 9:00:20 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari watches for a moment before sighing and helping her dry off with something approaching proper form 9:00:55 PM Aziz al-Awlari: ...one of these days you'll have to give me lessons on being a dragon. Everything's so different for both of us. 9:01:26 PM Basement Cat: Marti: It's a lot easier. You just do what you like. 9:03:35 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Humans are much more sensitive. The advantage is that they're much more sensitive - a human's sense of touch is actually sensitive enough to convey information. For example, you can feel the slip moving against your skin, right? 9:03:51 PM Basement Cat: Marti nods. 9:04:44 PM Aziz al-Awlari: You can also feel things like bugs or other smaller creatures climbing on you, even if they're trying to be sneaky about it. Ever discover something small trying not to be noticed on your scales, and you only found it later by accident? 9:05:54 PM Basement Cat: Marti: I had a cat once. 9:06:48 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari reaches out and takes her hand, tapping very lightly on the inside of her wrist with the very tip of a finger - just to demonstrate said sensitivity. "You'll notice anything trying to do the same on you, as a human." 9:07:57 PM Basement Cat: She jumps. 9:08:16 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari smiles, a little less wryly this time. "See what I mean?" 9:09:45 PM Basement Cat: Marti: And you can't cover up with your wings, either. It's cold. 9:10:00 PM Aziz al-Awlari: We have blankets and towels for that. Here, let me get you one. 9:10:37 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari pulls the topcover off of his bed and wraps it around her, swathing most of the chair in blanketry 9:11:38 PM Basement Cat: She laughs a little bit. "But now my arms are stuck!" 9:13:14 PM Aziz al-Awlari: ...speaking of warm things, the water's probably boiling. Just a moment. 9:14:26 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari checks the kettle and confirms the water is, in fact, boiling. A few moments later and a strainer-ball full of tea leaves is steeping in a cup of honeyed water. "I'd leave that for now; humans are sensitive to abrupt temperature changes, and boiling water will damage your tongue... painfully so." 9:14:37 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Let it cool a bit first. 9:15:22 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari chuckles. "It's a bit ridiculous, right?" 9:15:27 PM Aziz al-Awlari: But it's warm, at least. 9:17:12 PM Basement Cat: ((Testing.)) 9:17:39 PM Basement Cat: ((now they went through. Odd.)) 9:17:39 PM Aziz al-Awlari: beep 9:17:54 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Skype eat something? 9:18:24 PM Basement Cat: ((It ate all of that sinice the blanketry! But now it's all there.)) 9:18:42 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: You have to be so careful not to damage yourself. 9:18:50 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: ... I'm going to need a much softer hoard. 9:19:39 PM Aziz al-Awlari: It's the perils of a more sensitive system. We can detect much gentler touches, but we become more vulnerable to the stronger ones. 9:20:02 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari playfully boops the tip of her nose with a fingertip, by way of demonstration 9:20:26 PM Basement Cat: Martivir smiles. 9:21:39 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Here, your tea is probably cooled enough. Drink it slowly; just a little sip at first, see if it's cool enough for your system to handle. If it's too hot, let it sit until it's cooler. 9:21:52 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari helps her free her arms, then gives her the teacup and saucer 9:22:36 PM Basement Cat: She holds it together like he did, and cautiously takes a sip. 9:24:21 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: It's sweet. 9:24:24 PM Basement Cat: She smiles. 9:24:42 PM Aziz al-Awlari: That's the honey. It'll also help you relax, which will help with sleep. 9:26:25 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: Are there soft things that are worth money? ... will they be all right under water? 9:27:51 PM Aziz al-Awlari: There are plenty of soft things that are worth money. There are some countries that trade in fabrics rather than metals - remember, I make my living by selling worked textiles. The water thing, though... most of the more precious fabrics aren't fans of water. 9:28:01 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Similarly to how silver and copper don't do well in water. 9:29:25 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: ... maybe two littler hoards. I like you all, I want to keep being squishy sometimes. Hiding is boring. 9:30:29 PM Aziz al-Awlari: There are also spells that can keep your fabrics safe. Maybe build an upper chamber in your lair, like into the body of a great hollowed-out tree - and then just enchant the inner area to stay dry and temperate. 9:31:05 PM Aziz al-Awlari: You could keep the more fragile parts of your hoard up in there. Keep an eye on them from your primary hoard. 9:32:37 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: ... I just hope I can build one again. I didn't smell any precious metals in the forest. 9:34:12 PM Aziz al-Awlari: The forest on Nation doesn't have much of anything in it. It's a recreation of a forest, much like your room is a recreation of a swamp. The swamps back on my home plane have massive underground veins of precious metals like copper - it's their reaction with the swamp waters that cause the methane bubbles and some of the smells. 9:34:46 PM Aziz al-Awlari: They tried to mount a mining excavation once. It didn't end well - they kept getting washed out by the waters every time they tried to open a tunnel. I bet it's all still there. 9:35:44 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: I could go there. But what do I do until then? 9:37:58 PM Aziz al-Awlari: For now? Sleep as a human, I suppose. We'll have to make you a pillow-hoard to sleep on. 9:38:43 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: I could sleep on my dress. That's valuable, isn't it? 9:40:12 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari indicates his own bed. "For example, my pillow-hoard is covered in silks - the same valuable textile I made your dresses out of. They make lovely soft sheets. The blankets are full of goose-down, hand-picked by master artisans who then spent weeks getting the texture just right. The pillows are stuffed with the same valuable down; in some countries, a goose-down pillow can sell for more than a peasant's hut." 9:41:10 PM Aziz al-Awlari: And, just for a surprise - the mattress is full of metal. An alloy of iron and aluminum, bent into ornate shapes called springs. They provide support and structure, beneath the comfortable layer of silks and softness. 9:42:24 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari pats the bedframe. "Care to try it? If it helps you sleep, we can have Nation fix a setup like this for you. I'll sleep in the chair." 9:42:57 PM Basement Cat: She drinks the rest of her tea and stands up. 9:43:53 PM Basement Cat: She pushes down on the mattress curiously! 9:44:05 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari takes the blanket from the chair and spreads it back across the bed, then folds a corner back to open up the pocket. "Burrow into that. Make sure you leave your head exposed; rest it on one of the pillows." 9:44:58 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: But I don't take up that much room. You can fit. Is there another of those cloth things? 9:47:06 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Blankets? I have a spare, yes. As for the chair, Sharing a bed is usually only done by humans who intend to create children together. 9:48:56 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Hence why I'd sleep in the chair. 9:48:57 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: Oh! At the same time, or consecutively? 9:50:11 PM | Edited 9:50:23 PM Aziz al-Awlari: At the same time. Consecutively can be frowned upon by hygiene-conscious societies, but carries no such sexual connotations. 9:51:03 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: So you don't want an egg. 9:53:12 PM Aziz al-Awlari: I... find the idea intriguing, but I don't think either of us is in a position to raise a youngling. Plus, I barely know you - and you barely know me. 9:54:42 PM Aziz al-Awlari: The topic of recreational sex is one we can broach at a later... much later... time. Once you're capable of sleeping at all, for a bare minimum. 9:55:13 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: Usually it's fathers who do the raising. 9:57:33 PM Aziz al-Awlari: In squishable societies, both parts of a couple take part in the raising. Fathers can be somewhat distant, since in human societies their primary role is to hunt, gather, or otherwise provide food and reinforce shelter; that role can keep them away from home for long periods of time. That obviously differs depending on the individual society, the economic standing of the couple, and the personal preferences of both parties. 9:58:48 PM Aziz al-Awlari: My father, for example, wasn't very present during my youth. My mother did most of my raising. My father was much more present during my elder brother's youth, however - because his economic standing allowed him to be, at the time. 10:00:55 PM Basement Cat: Marti burrows into the covers while she listens. Her head's still visible, though. 10:01:27 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari stops himself and drags the comfy chair closer to the bed. "But we can talk about family-raising when you've had proper sleep. The human mind requires sleep for memory-processing and repair of cognitive thought... and it's time you got your sleep." He flops into the chair and pulls a blanket over himself, staying within arms' reach of the bed. 10:02:40 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Starting to feel a little sleepier? You look comfy in there. 10:03:50 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: It's nice in here. I can tell it's expensive. ... I just don't know how to get a hoard again. 10:04:51 PM Aziz al-Awlari: We'll work on that together, alright? For now, take it one step at a time... and right now, the next step is sleep. 10:05:43 PM Aziz al-Awlari: I'm gonna get the lights, ok? 10:06:58 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: But this is your hoard. 10:08:46 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Don't worry about it. We'll get you your own hoard, in time. 10:11:46 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: But you have to sleep too. 10:12:53 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari sighs and closes his eyes. "You're not going to let me sleep unless we're both in there, are you." 10:13:41 PM Basement Cat: Martivir, meekly: You don't have to. But I'd never steal a hoard. 10:15:41 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari sighs and clambers out of the chair, sliding into bed and wrapping his arms around her. "You are adorable. I just want you to know that." 10:16:24 PM Basement Cat: Martivir snuggles up to him a little bit. "This way it's more like borrowing a hoard. You're bigger than a cat, too." 10:19:50 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari rolls his eyes and tugs the blankets up around the both of them, burying his face in her hair and sighing softly. "Plus, you'll warm up faster." 10:20:28 PM Basement Cat: The hair never moves while he's looking right at it. Also, it smells damp even though it isn't. 10:21:19 PM Basement Cat: Martivir: Soft hoard. Never thought of that. 10:22:06 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Don't worry, the mattress springs still use precious metals. The world hasn't completely turned upside down. 10:22:50 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari smiles wryly and ruffles her hair a little, then reaches behind him to pull the lamp-chain and turn out the lights. "Sleep. You need it." 10:26:21 PM Basement Cat: She mumbles a bit. 10:26:52 PM Basement Cat: ((If he wants to go hang out with the group he can do that, we can say this is either before or after that.)) 10:27:08 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Mm? What'd you say? 10:27:30 PM Basement Cat: Marti has fallen asleep! 10:28:27 PM Aziz al-Awlari: Aziz al-Awlari smiles and burrows back into the blankets, letting himself drift off to sleep as well